October 11^th, 2005 (3:36pm) - Namco has announced that Soul Calibur III has gone gold for the PS2. The latest chapter in the classic tale of souls and swords, Soul Calibur III secures its position as the must-have fighting game for 2005 with an in-depth character creation system, three brand-new characters and original gameplay modes. The game is scheduled for release in stores on October 25th, and is rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

"Fighting game fans should look no further than ’SOULCALIBUR III’ for the most exciting fighting experience available on the PlayStation 2 in 2005," said Yoshi Niki, Business Unit Director with Namco Hometek Inc. "’SOULCALIBUR III’ does justice to the legendary franchise with incredibly detailed graphics, a vast selection of playable characters and challenging new gameplay modes including real time strategy."

The acclaimed series’ latest addition, Soul Calibur III thrusts players into the story of two legendary swords -- Soul Calibur and Soul Edge -- and the fighters engaged in the epic battle between these powerful blades. Three all-new characters -- Zasalamel, Tira and Setsuka -- join the classic fighters embroiled in the struggle, for a total of more than 25 playable characters. The weapons-based battles take place against a backdrop of gorgeous all-new stages, from a shrine in Greece to a castle in Germany.

Soul Calibur III incorporates a groundbreaking new character creation system that allows players to draw from their imaginations and assemble an infinite variety of fighters, taking into account gender, physical appearance, fight style and all-new weapons for the created characters. Other new gameplay modes also make their debut in Soul Calibur III, and add to the title’s replayability. Players may lead their created character through real-time strategy battles in The Chronicles of the Sword mode; battle through a variety of special conditions that take an interesting spin on traditional SOULCALIBUR-style fighting in Soul Arena mode; prepare for battles by training in the Practice mode; or visit Museum mode to view everything that they’ve unlocked in the game.